Ranulf Stigma
Ranulf Stigma (ラナルフ スチグマ, Ranarufu Sutiguma) is a Mage who is a member of the dark guild, The Dreadnaughts. He was given the title, The Fiend, because of his lecherous personality and rather cruel nature. He wields a unique form of Molding Magic that is based on a special ink used in his tattoos. Appearance Ranulf almost always appears as a disheveled vagabond with shoulder length platinum blonde hair with a thin wire headband and yellow eyes. He has a rather emaciated looking face with scruff around his chin to eccentuate his unkempt look. His attire consists mainly of faded blue jeans torn in several areas, white studded belt, tan boots and a rand scarf tucked into his back pocket. He almost never wears a shirt and his arms and back are heavily tattooed. These tattoos were created with special inks that help him channel his magical to utilize his Ink-Make. Some of the tattoos that he has on his arms are: sword piercing a heart, barbed wire, ribbons, a large staff with a sun burst at the top, flames burning, a large monster-like creature and bat wings. Personality As stated before, Ranulf is a rather lecherous and cruel individual, and stated by the other members of The Dreadnaughts as being someone who is unpleasant to be around. When speaking to people, he's rude, arrogant and impolite. He's also a bit of womanizer who treats them as nothing more than toys for enjoyment. He has no manners to speak of and can be seen grooming himself with his fingers even in the presence of others. Ranulf shows little to no respect towards others and seemingly only follows Lancaster's orders out of fear. When battling, Ranulf can be quite cruel and often taunts his opponents, even when they are injured. He has no sense of honor or sportsmanship and will do whatever it takes to win, resulting in him using treachery to gain advantage over an opponent. Also during battles, if he begins losing or is faced with a difficult challenge, he begins to show signs of weakness and desperation, and becomes increasingly frustrated over his inability to overcome an opponent. Even so, he is still a gifted mage who uses his unique tattoo magic in creative ways to win his battles. This allows to compensate for his relatively weaker status amongst the ranks of the Dreadnaughts. Ranulf can be seen regularly with Faye Aldrete, though their relationship is strictly professional, much to Ranulf's dismay. He can be seen talking badly of her, even to her face, as well as treating her like a tool rather than an actual person. Ranulf also enjoys saying offensive things to her, which often escalates into potential fights breaking out between the two. Regardless of their attitudes towards each other, their abilities seem to blend well together and become a truly deadly duo. History As a requirement to join the Dreadnaughts, Ranulf discarded his previous life and identity for his new one. As such, his past is completely unknown at this time. Plot *004. Breaking up the Band Magic & Abilities Ranulf is a crude, yet cunning fighter who employs deception and other unsavory methods to win battles. While possessing little to no combat training other than basic street fighting, Ranulf makes up for it with his ingenuity and creativity when using his infamous Ink-Make. He gains his advantage by its unique properties to slowly weaken his opponents and then come in for the killing blow. Physical Abilities Enhanced Agility: Ranulf has a rather unorthodox way of fighting that combines a great deal of agility. He can leap over obstacles many meters high, such as the stone wall protecting Stonehaven. This grants him a higher level of dodging ability to avoid incoming attacks and remain unharmed. When fighting, he prefers to remain out of his opponent's range by leaping through the surrounding area and attacking from a distance. This helps him make up for his lack of fighting skills at close range. Hand-to-Hand Combatant: '''While not as skilled of a fighter as the rest of Dreadnaughts, Ranulf is fully capable of holding his own in fight. His style is reminiscent of a street fighter, throwing wild punches and kicks, while still mainting a high level of strength and power. He's also known to be a dirty fighter, throwing elbows and knees, and kicking his opponents when they're down. Ranulf also isn't above biting or gouging his opponent's eyes to gain an advantage. Feeding on his desires to hurt people, Ranulf looks to inflict as much damage as possible to his opponents, maming them in the process and doesn't hesitate in killing them once he's had his fun. Mental Abilities '''Creativity: Ranulf has displayed incredible imagination and creativity when it comes to creating his constructs. Using his own body art as inspiration, he can produce them as living works for a variety of purposes, either attacking his opponents, trapping them within it, or using it as a means of defense or transportation. While a nasty individual, Ranulf is nevertheless highly artistic and each new tattoo that he creates produces a new effect. Magical Abilities Great Magical Power: As a requirement to join the Dreadnaughts, Ranulf must possess magical power equal or close to that of an S-Class Mage. With that, it can be assumed Ranulf has great levels of magical power. It has been noted that he's considered the weakest member of the Dreadnaughts, but not an opponent who should be taken lightly. He's able to exert an invisible aura from his body that paralyzes weaker individuals through a mere gaze, hinting that his level of power is far above normal humans and even young mages. Tattoo Magic: Ink-Make Tattoo Magic: Ink-Make (黥魔法 • 墨造る, Irezumi Mahō: Sumi Tsukuru) This form of Molding Magic allows Ranulf to create various objects for both offensive and defensive purposes from the special ink used in his tattoos. These objects usually reflect one of the many tattoos on his body and can either be Static or Dynamic. When an object is created, they appear as a black oil like substance and possesses enough force to crush opponents from the high pressure or reshape it so its thin enough to slice his targets. Also, the oil-like liquid is also very nauseating and capable of making targets feel ill and disoriented after prolonged exposure. His ink targets the senses of smell, taste and sight and has such a powerful effect that an opponent's eyes will begin watering once exposed to it. This allows him to temporarily blind them with his targets needing to flee the area immediately if they want to overcome it. Its main power comes from the toxins the ink can produce which ultimately weaken his opponents and grant him an advantage in a drawn out battle. The effects last as long as the ink remains on the battle field, though after a few hours these effects ultimately weaken to merely a strong odor similar to sulfur or rotten eggs. This makes it difficult for other mages to maintain their concentration when casting spells or holding currently casted spells together. Once the black ink has been expelled from his body, he remains in control of the substance even if not linked to him. Meaning, he can mentally control the ink even if its out of physical reach. Because of its malleable nature, Ranulf can quickly shift between spells to constantly keep his opponents on guard. Also, since he's casting ink all around him, he's able to produce his spells from these pools, either to attack his targets from different directions or to catch them offguard with a surprise attack. The ink itself is very sticky, instantly adhering to any surface and casting off its powerful stench to sicken and blind his opponents. Once stuck on a target, its difficult to scrape the ink off completely but can be done, especially if submerged underwater which helps separate the ink from the body while the ink remains on the surface. *'Ink-Make: Vile Sword' (卑しい剣, Iyashī Ken) From the sword tattoo piercing the heart on his right forearm, Ranulf can create a sword of black ink that is strong enough to clash with other solid weapons and sharp enough to cut his opponents, as well as slice through durable substances. The sword appears as a twisted scimitar with a long curved and jagged blade and Ranulf wields it with enough prociency to clash against expert swordsmen. Vile Sword can be cast as a handheld weapon for fighting with or as a projectile to stab his opponents with. He's known to produce up to three projectiles consecutively if cast in this manner. *'Ink-Make: Putrid Vines' ( 腐敗ブドウ, Fuhai Budō) From the barbed wire tattoo located around his right wrist, Ranulf can unleash several long black ink vines with jagged thorns to ensnare a target. These vines sprout from the purple magical seal that's created from his palm and shoot out towards his opponents. He can summon several of these to trap multiple targets if he wishes. The thorns can also deal damage to its trapped targets by Ranulf tightening its grip around them. He mainly employs this spell to ensnare and torture his targets before ultimately ending with a finishing blow. *'Ink-Make: Dirty Bombs' (汚い爆弾, Kitanai Bakudan) A spell generated from the sunburst tattoo near his shoulder. By placing boths hands in front of him and his palms out towards a target, Ranulf can unleash a barrage of small ink blobs that travel at great speeds and splatter upon contact. Once splattered, they begin to release a toxin that makes anyone who breathes it in very ill and disoriented, affecting their ability to continue fighting or even fleeing. Ranulf is immune to the Dirty Bombs effects, allowing him to punish his foes who have fallen victim to this attack. Considering his methods are rather dirty to begin with, its not surprise that he would often open his battles with this attack to slowly fill the battlefield with his toxins to weaken his opponents. This allows him to make up for his average skills in armed and unarmed combat. *'Ink-Make: Dregs of the Impure' (不純なのかす, Fujun'na no Ka Su) Wrapping around the staff with the sunburst at the top are two snake-like creatures which this spell originates from. When casting this spell, black ink spews out of his tattoos and completely wrap his arms and forms the heads of monsters with fangs where the hands would be. Ranulf can then use these creatures to inflict additional damage during melee combat, as well as bite down on his targets. If a target is bitten, a toxin is transmitted from the bite to cause temporary paralysis. The effects only last for a few minutes but given Ranulf's murderous nature, those few minutes can mean life and death for his opponents. These creatures can also be used for defense and are strong enough to stand up against incoming attacks. *'Ink-Make: Webs of Refuse' (ゴミの網, Gomi no Ami) From the ribbons located around his entire right arm, Ranulf raises his hand in the air and creates a purple magic seal. From there, he unleashes a large amount of black ink ribbons that skewer his opponents or entangles them within its web formation. The ribbons themselves can cover a large area, almost gauranteeing that anything within that area will be captured. The ribbons are able to slash his opponents by condensing the ink to the create a fine thin layer with edges sharp enough to slice through hard substances such as wood or stone. He's shown to be able to create these ribbons from other ink pools throughout an area, allowing him to attack from different angles depending on where his opponent is standing. *'Ink-Make: Filthy Wings' (不潔翼, Fuketsu Tsubasa) When casting this spell, large black wings of ink that resemble a bat's sprout from his back. These wings grant Ranulf the ability to fly great heights and high speeds to outmaneuver his opponents or traverse over long distances. Ranulf employs this spell to flee from risky situations or to bomb his opponents from above and with relative safety. The wings move similar to how bad wings flap and he's shown to possess enough skill to change directions almost instantly through combined agility and coordination. Also, as a form of defense, Ranulf can wrap his entire body in these wings to block an incoming attack and have them absorb the damage while leaving him unharmed. Unfortunately, because of the nature of these wings, they can only survive one powerful attack before dispersing all around him in a sickening splat. To compensate for this, Ranulf can quickly mold the splattered ink into any one of his other spells to interupt another incoming attack. *'Ink-Make: Bad Breath' (口臭, Kōshū) From the flame tattoo on his left forearm, Ranulf can release a thick spray of black ink that he uses to blind and choke his opponents. The black mist can also hang like a cloud and create a black fog to obscure his movements. This spell does inflict any physical damage and is mainly used to weaken his targets through the different status effects. If struck directly in the face with this space, an opponent immediately feels their eyes stinging to the point of tearing while they choke from the overwhelming smell as it fills their lungs. Ranulf can quickly cast this spell from his hands when his opponents are close, making it a rather dirty attack that matches his personality. *'Ink-Make: Vile Ink Sewage '(下劣な墨下水, Geretsuna Sumi Gesui) By clasping his hands in front of him, Ranulf creates a purple seal and thrusts his hands forward, releasing a large stream of black ink that travels with great speed and crushing force. The stream is quite large and sweep targets back to slam them against solid surfaces with enough force to imprint their body into it. The ink itself is also quite toxic and will slowly weaken a target exposed to this magic. Aside from its nauseating and blinding effect, Vile Ink Sewage also possesses corrosive abilities which eventually disolves sturdy materials like acid. The acid begins to eat away at substances at a slow pace, allowing his opponents to shed whatever is beginning to disolve before it begins to deal any damage. His opponents mainly fall victim to this effect if they are knocked unconcious through the initial impact of the stream. *'Ink-Make: Bring Forth the Beast '(獣をもたらす, Kemono o Motarasu) From the large serpent tattoo on his left arm, Ranulf can summon a massive sea creature of black ink to attack his enemies with. The creature resembles a mutated sea serpent with red eyes and a wide mouth full of sharp teeth that it can use to bite down on its targets and rend them apart. Its body is aslo highly malleable, able to stretch over great distances to chase Ranulf's enemies or absorb impact from physical attacks. This makes the creature exceptionally durable against physical attacks. Ranulf can also swim through the creature's body and protect himself from enemy attacks. The creature itself is extremely strong and capable of smashing through buildings to either continue chasing a target or rain down debris to fallen opponents below. From its body, Ranulf can also produce various snake like creatures similar to his Dregs of the Impure spell to attack targets that may have dodged the larger main body and pull them into the massive ink liquid, either drowning them in the process or increasing the sickening effects it creates. Because the creature is so large, it requires a great deal of magical power to maintain. Therefore Ranulf can only summon this creature for a few short minutes, or cause the entire creature to explode and send gallons of black ink all around the area. Stats Ranulf's statistics are listed to the left. These statistics are a close approximation of his baseline abilities. They do not reflect his full potential, and may vary during moments of stress or determination. As such, they are not to be taken as definitive stats, but merely as an overall indication of his level of power. His statistics are broken down to: Offense, Defense, Speed and Intelligence, with a fifth statistic specific to his character which is Freak. Trivia *His appearance is based on Takaya Sakaki from Persona 3. *His abilities were inspired by Sai's Ink Techniques from Naruto, and Ink from Marvel Comics. *His theme song, which he also plays himself at times for dramatic entrances, is The Regulator by Clutch. Category:The Dreadnaughts Category:Dark Mage Category:Tatto Magic Category:Ink-Make